I have an interest in names but as I am dyslexic sometimes find pronunciation and spellings difficult. I’m not expecting or anything just like looking up names sometimes for sims characters.
I have a niece called [name_f]Mya[/name_f] (My ah) and a friend called [name_f]Mia[/name_f] (Mee ah) but when my niece was first born my dad had difficulty saying [name_f]Mya[/name_f] and said [name_f]Maya[/name_f] (MAY ah) instead. I now learnt that [name_f]Maya[/name_f] can be pronounced like [name_f]Mya[/name_f] and [name_f]Mya[/name_f] can be like [name_f]Maya[/name_f] and before my niece I thought [name_f]Mya[/name_f] and [name_f]Mia[/name_f] was said the same way as each other (Mee ah).
Why is there lots of difference ways of pronunciation with these names? Also what way do you say these names? Why is [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Mya[/name_f] different but for example [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mari[/name_f] would be same pronunciation?
Sorry if this is a pointless post but I like to try improve my reading, spelling and speech by learning more and getting help from people who know better than me.
They definitely wouldn’t be the same to me I’d say [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as meh-ree (like the word ‘to marry’) and [name_f]Mari[/name_f] as mah-ree (rhyming with ‘jarri’ in the word ‘jarring’)
I’m no linguist, so I can’t exactly answer your question accurately, but well… Each letter can have multiple pronunciations in [name_f]English[/name_f], which leads to spelling/pronunciation confusions like that! While this isn’t exclusive to just [name_f]English[/name_f], most other languages are more straight forward, and each vowel only makes one sound (unless it’s in a diphthong). The letter A in [name_f]English[/name_f] can be pronounced “ah”, like in the word “cat”, or it can be pronounced the way it is in the word “bay”, so it makes sense that [name_f]Maya[/name_f] could be pronounced with both the “ah” sound and the “ay” sound!
I’m European, and I would say:
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] - MAH-yah
[name_f]Mya[/name_f] - MIH-ah
[name_f]Mia[/name_f] - MEE-ah
I pronounce [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mari[/name_f] like mare and ree then think of similar name [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Marie[/name_f] but sometimes people put y, i and rie/ri but pronounce it the same or different so all depends on which language they talk in I guess.
I am from [name_f]England[/name_f] and we got words spelt differently but pronounce the same along with words with same spelling but different meaning. Accent also plays a part too as people speak differently from one city to the next.
A lot of it comes down to cultural and language differences but also just personal preferences too!
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] can be May-ah, My-ah and MAH-yah for example, because it has a number of different origins [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Mya[/name_f] can be said the same or differently because sometimes a Y is just used to replace an ‘i’ (or another vowel), because of personal preference/style, but it could also be used as a way to spell MY-uh since the word ‘MY’ is said like that.
Like @tallemaja, I would pronounce [name_f]Mari[/name_f] and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] differently, but that’s as someone in the UK, who’s met a [name_f]Mari[/name_f] who says it MAR-ee (MAR rhyming with car, or like the sound in mars) and one who said it MA-ree (MA like the sound in math), but I can imagine the two spellings being pronounced the same in the US.
[name_f]My[/name_f] guess would be the answer is language? [name_f]Maya[/name_f] isn’t an [name_f]English[/name_f] name so it’s got a couple pronunciations, plus names in different places still in [name_f]English[/name_f] also sound differently. To me, [name_f]Mary[/name_f] & [name_f]Mari[/name_f] would absolutely not be the same pronunciation! [name_f]Mari[/name_f] is a common nn in [name_m]Brazil[/name_m] (for [name_f]Mariana[/name_f] mostly) and I’d say “Mah-ree” but [name_f]Mary[/name_f] is definitely very [name_f]English[/name_f] and I’d say “meh-ree” (like “merry Christmas”).
I’d say [name_f]Maya[/name_f] as “mah-ee-uh (but short on the ee sound? Like the first e in [name_f]Eve[/name_f] in [name_f]English[/name_f]? [name_f]Kinda[/name_f] like my-uh), [name_f]Mia[/name_f] as Mee-uh & [name_f]Mya[/name_f] I’ve never seen but by instinct I’d think it was a different spell of [name_f]Mia[/name_f] and say it the same.
Fwiw I know a [name_f]Mari[/name_f] whose name is pronounced mah-ree
As for [name_f]Mya[/name_f] I would assume was pronounced my-uh, though I wouldnt be too surprised if it was mee-uh. I would also assume [name_f]Maya[/name_f] was pronounced My-uh before May-uh.
[name_f]Mia[/name_f] is the one I’m least sure about. I’ve known a few different Mia’s through out the years and some of them say mee-uh and some say my-uh.
For me, [name_f]Mari[/name_f] would be Mar-ee (like car) and [name_f]Mary[/name_f] would be almost like may-ree (first syllable like the word mare)
[name_f]Mia[/name_f] is mee-ah
[name_f]Maya[/name_f] is may-ah for me, but in Sanskrit (and a lot of other cultures) it’s pronounced my-ah so I’m so sure. I instinctively think may-ah but I acknowledge it could be my-ah too.
Actually, I’ve never met a person with any of these names, so no real life data for me.
It differs due to language and personal preference. I’d pronounce [name_f]Maya[/name_f] like MY-uh (but know some who’re MAY-uh), [name_f]Mya[/name_f] like MY-uh and [name_f]Mia[/name_f] like MEE-uh. I’d also pronounce [name_f]Mary[/name_f] and [name_f]Mari[/name_f] differently, [name_f]Mary[/name_f] like MAIR-ree and [name_f]Mari[/name_f] like MAR-ree. I also think accent can cause differences within the same pronunciation.
[name_f]Mia[/name_f] and [name_f]Mya[/name_f] can be said the same or differently because sometimes a Y is just used to replace an ‘i’ (or another vowel), because of personal preference/style, but it could also be used as a way to spell MY-uh since the word ‘MY’ is said like that.